It wasn’t just Royston Football Club who enjoyed great success last season.

Although the Crows stormed into the Evo-Stik Southern, Premier Division, sealing the title with more than 100 points, there was also a stunning development on and off the pitch at the town’s rugby club.

Will Greenwood was an ever-present at the club, helping with everything from first-team coaching to fundraising while, under the guidance of head-coach Mick Jones, they came within a whisker of a Twickenham final in the London Junior Vase.

However, when Jones departed to join Letchworth, it prompted the next stage in the forward-thinking club’s ambitions – giving England international and Saracens flanker Hannah Gallagher the nod as head coach.

And after winning their first Herts-Middlesex One game against Barnet 20-0, Gallagher has laid her cards on the table for what she wants the club to achieve: promotion.

It won’t be an easy feat. The sad demise of championship side London Welsh has left their amateur side, including several former Premiership players, in Royston’s league, instantly pinning themselves as favourites for promotion.

And this is where Gallagher’s philosophy comes in. An elite player who has had elite coaching is making sure the team is hard to beat and really organised.

Indeed Jamie Green, first-team player and vice-chair of the club, said the main difference was the precision she was bringing to the sessions.

She said: “I’ve been there for the last three, four weeks and for the first few weeks of pre-season – learning about the players’ ability over a couple of pre-season games.

“Promotion is the main goal, but we have to make sure we’ve get a good structure. It’s going to be a tough year with the teams that are in this so it’ll be exciting and we’ll have to get on a winning run early.

“The main thing I wanted to bring is a game plan and a structure. I want everyone to know exactly how we’re going to play. That’s the stuff I can bring over from the England set-up, where the coaching is amazing.”

Women’s rugby in England is thriving at the minute, yet Gallagher is still trailblazing by coaching a men’s team. Although she said it isn’t something she often thinks about – she’s coached so many times as the only woman there that it has become the norm.

Gallagher is an England international player who, if not six months into a one-year lay-off for an ACL injury, would have been lining up against New Zealand in the World Cup final in Ireland a few weeks ago.

She said: “It was savage watching [the games and final]. It was hard to watch as you wanted so badly to be out there. I’m really proud of the girls, though.

“It’s a really exciting time and there’s a lot of young players and hopefully it’s not too long before I will be back there.”